Grab a notebook and a pen,
April’s time to rhyme again.
Learn about a challenge here –
RhyPiBoMo’s second year!
RhyPiBoMo stands for Rhyming Picture Book Month, and is
pronounced "rye-pie-bow-mow". It is the brainchild of Angie Karcher.
Tell our readers a
little about yourself, Angie.
I’m a Hoosier, married to my supportive husband Stan for
nearly 24 years and mother of four teens and two doggy assistants. I’m a former
kindergarten teacher and developmental therapist. I’ve been writing for over 20
years, and am represented by agent Kendra Marcus of BookStop Literary. I enjoy
writing poetry, rhyming picture books, historical fiction and non-fiction.
Angie's first book, Where the River Grins, M.T. Publishing, 2012.
A regional history resource book used in local schools. Buy it here.
Angie's second book, The Legendary R.A. "Cowboy" Jones, M.T. Publishing, 2014.
A biography of a 71-year-old jockey who still races horses in Kentucky. Buy it here.
Angie's special message:
I want to thank everyone for kind words of encouragement
after my accident at the L.A. SCBWI Conference last summer. For those who don’t
know, I fell and had emergency surgery to repair a severed nerve in my right
hand. I am doing great and appreciate all the loyal RhyPiBoMoers who stuck
around while I recovered. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to host the event this year,
but your kindness and encouragement was quite motivating!
Angie, how did you come up
with the idea for RhyPiBoMo?
In 2013 I participated in Tara Lazar’s PiBoIdMo and loved
the experience of community and focusing on a specific part of writing. There
were no writing challenges in April (poetry month) that focused on poetry and
rhyming picture books, so I began planning. Tara was so supportive and helped
me get organized, and writer friends helped me find fabulous guest bloggers.
Once Jane Yolen and Lee Bennett Hopkins joined, everyone else jumped aboard.
I’ve found there’s a stigma attached to being a writer of
rhyme -- being a rhymer is alarmingly frowned upon. So, I started RhyPiBoMo to
give rhymers a place for support and to encourage writers of rhyme to do it in
a professional manner, following the rules of picture book writing and using
rhyme as one piece of the puzzle, not as the focus of the story.
As authors, we’re
told to polish our elevator pitch. Doors closing…GO!
RhyPiBoMo (Rhyming Picture Book Month) is an annual writing challenge
in April for children’s writers who enjoy writing in rhyme. It features 25
fabulous writing professionals who share their knowledge about the Dos and
Don’ts of using rhyme in picture books. There are daily prizes, rhyming
parties, a poetry contest and more! Find it on my blog, Angiekarcher.wordpress.com.
Whew…how was that?
Well done! Any changes
this year?
We do have a few changes this year. First of all the blog
posts will be shared only on week days. This will allow us the weekends to
spend with family and get caught up on other important things.
Last year, I taught daily lessons along with the guest blog
posts. This year I asked the guest bloggers to choose a topic from a suggested list
and to use their blog post as a lesson itself.
Each year, your
banner honors a wonderful poet. Last year, it was William Shakespeare, designed
by Gayle Wing O’Donnell. Who are this year’s honored poet and illustrator?
I’m thrilled that we are celebrating a personal favorite, Maya
Angelou, on our banner. Her passing saddened me, and she was the clear choice
for this year’s honored poet.
I love the banner and badges, designed by author/illustrator
Tanja Bauerle!
We met in an online writing class several years ago. Since then,
we’ve hugged in person, ridden in an ambulance together, and shared laughs on
this bumpy road in children’s literature land. Visit Tanja here to see her
amazing work!
When collaborating with Tanja, we decided to share one of
Maya’s quotes on the banner. A few days of research later, we discovered that
we both had selected the same quote --
This quote speaks to us as writers. We don’t write to put
words on the page, we write to share the joy and our passion for the subjects
with children. The poetic rhythm and song of rhyming picture books are magic
and should be read aloud to children to experience the full gift.
Tell us about your
guest bloggers. I heard you are hosting ALL NEW poets this year!
Yes, this year we have 25 all new guest bloggers! I’m very
excited that Kwame Alexander will be in the house! He’s been floating around
the country since receiving his esteemed Newbery Award and graciously accepted
the final spot on my calendar in the midst of his confetti and fireworks.
Buckets of gratitude to all of the busy, talented folks who will celebrate
writing poetry and rhyming picture books with us!
You are such a
fun-loving poet, Angie. What’s planned for the launch of RhyPiBoMo?
I suppose I have been known to have a good time at whatever
I do! I like to laugh and share this passion I have of writing with others.
That being said…there may be something coming up in April that will be BIG! It
will be memorable and I believe it will remain in the hearts and minds of all…
Oh wait. I’m saying too much. I guess you will need to
participate in RhyPiBoMo to find out more! Did I mention that I like to tease
too?
Rest assured. We have something BIG up our sleeves for the
kick-off. It’s a Rhyming Surprise!
So, mum’s the word?
Well, a little blue bird did tell me that RhyPiBoMo will have a flurry of
celebration on April 4th…
April 4th is Maya Angelou’s birthday, so we’ll
celebrate with a webinar hosted by author Jackie Wellington and myself. We will
read Maya’s work, discuss her impact on children’s books, and more.
In addition, I’ve been asked by my local Barnes and Noble to
give a talk on April 11th about Maya Angelou. I’m thrilled that
we’re setting up a book fair to donate proceeds from purchases on the 11th
to WE NEED DIVERSE BOOKS, bringing diversity and poetry together to support an
important effort. More details to come!
In 2014, members of RhyPiBoMo formed critique groups. Will this happen again in 2015?
Absolutely! Another dear friend, Dawn Young, is the Admin
for RhyPiBoMo and Critique Coordinator who will set up rhyming critique groups
through our Facebook page. Our Facebook group has grown to over 300 members!
This is where we chat and have rhyming parties and lots of silly fun while
learning from each other. Request to join the RhyPiBoMo Facebook group and I
will admit you.
Dawn, an amazing writer and friend, is instrumental in
helping to make RhyPiBoMo a success. She also rode in an ambulance with some
very handsome actor/EMTs and me -- it’s amazing how you bond over things like
that! You can find more about Dawn here.
A Rhyming Party is an impromptu or planned party on our
Facebook page. I pose questions pertaining to the previous week’s blog posts,
and all who participate must answer in rhyming phrases.
For example:
Me: “Who is the lovely poet on our banner?”
Answer: “A lady named Maya who writes about the sky-a.”
It’s fast-paced silliness and a fun way for us to share our
love of rhyme and get to know each other. Prizes vary and all who participate leave
with a smile.
Will The
Golden Quill Poetry Contest return this year?
Yes, we will again host the Golden Quill Poetry Contest. Poems
will be judged on clever theme, rhyme scheme, poetic techniques, rhythm, and
overall read-it-out-loud-ability. There are wonderful prizes, too! Last year,
we had over 40 entries! More information will be on the blog soon. To
participate, you must be a registered
participant of RhyPiBoMo by April 8th.
That little blue bird
was chirping again, telling me about RhyPiBoMo Awards for 2015. Tell me more!
That little bird has been busy! Yes, we’ve formed a new committee
of RhyPiBoMo folks who will be reading lots of rhyming picture books soon, and
will name a favorite rhyming picture book of 2015 and several honor books this
November. I’m very excited to bring well-deserved
attention to brilliantly written and illustrated rhyming picture books.
So, how do we
register for RhyPiBoMo?
Registration opens on March 18th and runs through April 8th.
Go to Angiekarcher.wordpress.com to register. You must be registered to win prizes and compete in the
poetry contest.
Thanks, Angie!
Thank you so much, Patty, for helping me spread the word about
RhyPiBoMo. I hope many more writers will join us in this celebration of poetry
and rhyming picture books. This is a labor of love for me and many who write
and illustrate picture books.
Angie also offers a class, Writing in Rhyme to WOW, as well as critique services. You can find more information here and here.
